For a biped climbing robot with dual grippers to climb poles, trusses or trees, feasible collision-free climbing motion is inevitable and essential. In this paper, we utilize the sampling-based algorithm, Bi-RRT, to plan single-step collision-free motion for biped climbing robots in spatial trusses. To deal with the orientation limit of a 5-DoF biped climbing robot, a new state representation a...

Ecological theories of adaptive radiation predict that ecological opportunity stimulates cladogenesis through its effects on competitive release and niche expansion. Given that key innovations may confer ecological opportunity, we investigated the effect of the acquisition of climbing adaptations on rates of cladogenesis in a major avian radiation, the Neotropical bird family Furnariidae, using...

Successful climbing by vines not only prevents shading by neighbouring vegetation, but also may place the vines beyond ground herbivores. Here we tested the hypothesis that herbivory might enhance climbing in a vine species, and that such induced climbing should be greater in the shade. We assessed field herbivory in climbing and prostrate ramets of the twining vine Convolvulus arvensis. We eva...

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence and nature of rock-climbing injuries, and the factors associated with these injuries. DESIGN A retrospective cross-sectional study. SETTING Rock climbers were recruited at five outdoor and six indoor climbing venues in the UK. PARTICIPANTS 201 active rock climbers (163 male, 38 female climbers) aged 16-62 years. ASSESSMENT OF RISK FACTORS Rock clim...

Securinega virosa is used traditionally as sedative in children and in mental illnesses. In this study, the behavioral effects of methanolic root bark extract of S. virosa were investigated in mice. The results revealed that the extract significantly (P<0.05) and dose-dependently reduced the onset and prolonged the duration of sleep. The extract significantly (P<0.05) decreased exploratory acti...

One of the fundamental questions in population ecology is what factors influence size and stability populations. Rodents are one best-studied mammalian species regarding dynamics, but little knowledge about rodent dynamics tropical environments available, especially rainforests, where special adaptations behavior physiology may have evolved. Here, we used a detailed dataset from long-term monit...